Kyrie Irving hit a dramatic floating shot with 0.4 seconds left to play that gave the Dallas Mavericks a thrilling 107-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, a result that halted the reigning NBA champions' five-game winning streak.
Irving took an in-bounds pass from Maxi Kleber and dribbled to just behind the free-throw line before sinking a left-handed runner that lifted the Mavericks to their fifth win in six games. Dallas scored the contest's final five points after the Nuggets fought back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a late 105-102 lead.
Denver trailed 98-85 with 6:50 remaining before briefly moving ahead with a 20-4 run. After Nikola Jokić's jumper with 1:05 to go tied the game at 102-102, Jamal Murray capped the spurt with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 27.7 seconds left.
Luka Dončić answered with a 3-pointer on Dallas' ensuing possession, however, and Murray misfired on the Nuggets' next trip down the court to set up Irving's heroics.
Doncic finished with 37 points and nine rebounds, while Irving had 24 points and nine assists as the star guard duo accounted for over half of the Mavericks' scoring total.
Muray had 12 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to help bring the Nuggets back, while Michael Porter Jr. recorded 20 points and Jokic compiled 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Hot-shooting Bucks outscore Suns despite Antetokounmpo's absence
On a day in which they were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks got big performances from Damian Lillard and Bobby Porits and a season-high 24 3-pointers to come through with a 140-129 win over the Phoenix Suns.
Portis went 5 of 5 from beyond the arc while amassing 31 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while Lillard also had 31 points while matching a career high with 16 assists as Milwaukee prevailed despite Antetokounmpo sitting out with a sore hamstring.
The Bucks got plenty of other contributors while connecting on 58.5 per cent of their 3-point attempts for the game. Khris Middleton poured in 22 points in 25 minutes in his return from a 16-game absence, while Malik Beasley finished 5 of 8 from 3-point range in a 17-point effort.
Phoenix closed out a 2-2 road trip on a down note despite shooting 58.6 per cent from the field, including an 11-of-15 outing from Bradley Beal in which he tallied 28 points.
Former Buck Grayson Allen added 25 points while making 6 of 11 of his 3-point tries, but Milwaukee held Suns star Kevin Durant to a season-low 11 points.
The Bucks seized control with a big second quarter in which they outscored Phoenix by a 43-24 margin to extend a 39-36 first-quarter lead into a commanding 82-60 advantage at half-time. Portis led the way with 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting over the first two periods.
Phoenix cut its deficit down to 100-94 late in the third quarter, but the Bucks ended the period on a 9-0 run capped by a Lillard 3 that gave them a 109-94 lead into the fourth.
Milwaukee maintained a lead of at least seven points the rest of the way.
Hawks halt three-game skid with key win over Clippers
Dejounte Murray totalled 21 points and 10 assists as the Atlanta Hawks got back on track with a 110-93 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers.
De'Andre Hunter added 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting off the bench to help the Hawks snap a three-game losing streak and hand the Pacific Division-leading Clippers a fourth defeat in five games.
Murray hit 5 of 10 attempts from 3-point range as Atlanta shot 50 per cent (17 of 34) from beyond the arc compared to 30.6 per cent for Los Angeles, which struggled to get any complementary scoring beyond stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Leonard finished with 28 points and George had 26, but no other Los Angeles player reached double figures despite James Harden's return from a two-game absence caused by a strained left shoulder.
Harden dished out nine assists but had just nine points on 3-of-10 shooting in 36 minutes.
The Clippers particularly struggled during a second quarter in which they were outscored by a 30-15 margin by Atlanta, which opened up the period on an 8-0 run to build a 39-29 lead just over two minutes in.
Atlanta later scored 12 consecutive points to extend its advantage to 61-40 with two minutes remaining before half-time, and the Hawks' margin grew to as many as 29 points early in the fourth quarter.
Doncic hails 'team player' Washington after Westbrook confrontation
Luka Doncic saluted "team player" P.J. Washington following his confrontation with Russell Westbrook during the Dallas Mavericks' victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Mavericks prevailed 101-90 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series, with Doncic falling just shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Although, it was a feisty affair at the American Airlines Center, where Washington and Westbrook were both ejected after an altercation following the latter's foul and shove on Doncic.
The five-time NBA All-Star was grateful for Washington's support and intervention, paying tribute to his team-mate.
"The things he does, he's a team player," Doncic said. "He helps all of us. I'm just really happy we've got him on our team.
"I'm used to [getting subjected to extra physicality. I just try to stay calm and keep playing basketball."
Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was also pleased by the togetherness demonstrated by his players with emotions running high.
"We're all competing for each inch to try to win," he said. "This series is going to be more mental as it goes on, just because of the physicality.
"It's very physical, but the mental aspect of this series, we have to be sharp and we have to understand what's taking place. I thought the guys did a great job of protecting one another."
Durant urges Suns to use fans' frustration as 'fuel' towards playoff recovery
Kevin Durant has urged the Phoenix Suns to use their supporters' frustrations as 'fuel' to reduce their first-round series arrears against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Suns fell 3-0 behind in the series as they went down 126-109 in Game 3 at Footprint Center, where Anthony Edwards led the way for the Timberwolves with 36 points.
No team has overturned a 3-0 deficit in NBA playoff history, and the home fans' disappointment in their side's performance was evident with many heading for the exits long before the contest's conclusion.
Durant, who finished with 25 points, empathises with the supporters.
"They expect so much out of us, and they pay their hard-earned money, and they deserve to react how they want to react," he said. "It's on us as players to use it as fuel, and hopefully it ignites us for the next game [on Sunday]."
The Suns have now lost five successive playoff games - the joint-longest streak in their history - and face the prospect of getting swept for the first time in a quarter of a century.
"I've never been swept a day in my life," guard Bradley Beal said. "I'll be damned if that happens."
Head coach Frank Vogel added: "There's no quit in our group. This group does not want the season to come to an end. We want this really bad, so it is disappointing. It is frustrating.
"We're all very invested in this, and we're all pouring everything we have to bring these fans a team they could be proud of, and we feel like we can still do that, but we haven't played well enough in this series."
NBA: Haliburton lifts Pacers to 2-1 lead; Wolves take 3-0 lead and Mavs go up 2-1 on Clippers
Tyrese Haliburton capped his first career playoff triple-double with a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left in overtime that gave the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Friday's Game 3 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Haliburton's winning shot and 18-point, 10-rebound, 16-assist performance lifted the sixth-seeded Pacers to a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, which resumes in Indianapolis with Sunday's Game 4.
Indiana also received a big effort from Myles Turner, who set a playoff career-high with 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
With the game tied at 118-118, Haliburton was fouled by Patrick Beverley as he drained a 15-foot floater with time winding down. The All-Star point guard then calmly hit the ensuing free throw for a three-point Indiana advantage.
The third-seeded Bucks were able to get a shot off before the buzzer, but Khris Middleton's 3-point try missed the mark as time expired.
Middleton did record a playoff career high of 42 points to go along with 10 rebounds on a night Milwaukee was again without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf that's sidelined him the entire series.
Damian Lillard scored 19 of his 28 points in the second half for Milwaukee, which overcame a 17-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime on Middleton's 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Doncic leads Mavericks to chippy win
Luka Dončić fell just shy of a triple-double and the Dallas Mavericks turned up the defense in a chippy 101-90 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers for a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.
Doncic finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Kyrie Irving scored 19 of his 21 points in the final 13-plus minutes, including eight in the final 78 seconds of the third quarter.
The Mavericks continued their strong defense from Tuesday’s Game 2 road win and won at home three years after losing all three first-round home games in a seven-game loss to the Clippers.
Game 4 is Sunday in Dallas.
James Harden and Norman Powell each scored 21 points but stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had little impact, combining for just 16 points on 7 for 18 from the field.
An already testy game reached a boiling point midway through the fourth quarter, when Russell Westbrook slung Doncic around after fouling him.
Westbrook was called for a technical for that contact and for shoving P.J. Washington after Washington confronted him. Washington was also called for a tech during the sequence, and already had one from an earlier shoving match with Terance Mann.
Edwards, balanced Timberwolves handle Suns
Anthony Edwards scored 36 points to lead six players in double figures and the Minnesota Timberwolves rolled to a 126-109 win over the Phoenix Suns to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their first-round series.
Edwards had nine rebounds and five assists, Rudy Gobert added 19 points with 14 rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in 18 points and 13 boards as Minnesota took a 3-0 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
They can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday.
Minnesota for the third straight game used a big third quarter to turn a close game into an easy win. The Wolves hit 7 of 11 3-pointers during the surge, including four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, for a 95-73 lead entering the fourth.
Phoenix never got the deficit below double digits in the fourth and is one loss away from getting swept for the first time since 1998-99.
Bradley Beal scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 25 for the Suns, who played without starting guard Grayson Allen (sprained left ankle). He led the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage this season.
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